Look Forward To Hearing From You

My Turn

October 12, 1990|By SUSI LAWSON Guest Columnist

How many times have you heard the words, "You owe me a letter," or "It's your turn to write?" Well, I don't believe that writing is a debt, or a question we must answer, but rather a way of expressing yourself to others when and if you feel like it.

I love to write, and I do so daily. I've kept a diary since fifth grade and write at least three letters a week. I don't do this out of a sense of obligation, but for sheer enjoyment. Every now and then someone will actually write back, which is always a treat. But let's face it, there are a lot of people in this world who - wonder to me - do not like to write. There are also a lot of people who don't like chocolate. We don't have to understand it; it's just one of those things.

I have a brother who believes writing to be another nasty chore, like laundry and dirty dishes. I know he enjoys receiving my letters, but I have long ago accepted the fact that it is a rare and wondrous event to find a letter from him in my mailbox. I figure the odds are comparable to winning the state lottery, but, hey, I'm even crazy enough to think I have a chance at that.

An empty mailbox will never curb my urge to write. I don't believe we should eliminate any pleasures from our life just because they don't elicit a response. Heck, if music is right I've even been known to dance by myself.

I know, without taking a survey, that we all love to receive and read letters from a friend or loved one. What a delight it is to find, among bills, pizza coupons and various residence mail, a letter with your name in a familiar script. No matter what a downer your day was, a letter can make a big difference.

In the same way a camera can capture an expression, the written word can capture a feeling - whether it be in the form of a song, a poem, a confession, an apology or an attack. The written word can be powerful. A perfect example of this was found in the movie "In Country," in which Emily Lloyd played a teen-age girl longing to know more about the father she lost in Vietnam. When she found and read his letters, she experienced a warmth and closeness that her mother or uncle could not have the ability to reveal to her. These were his words, written by his hands - a tangible part of him she would never have known.

I have chosen and saved several favorite letters written by my Mom and Dad, my sister and my brother, tucked in a box along with my favorite photographs. I envision myself, God willing, when I am much older, settling down all alone in the richness of solitude and the glow of the "golden years" and reading once again how proud my mother was when she passed her G.E.D. and started college at 50. How relieved we all were when Dad survived his bypass operation, my brother survived the war and they all survived their divorces.

And I know my eyes will linger lovingly, as they always do, on the closing words: "Looking forward to hearing from you."

Lawson, a Newport News resident, is a free-lance artist.

For a chance to share your own insight, send three double-spaced typewritten pages or less to My turn, MP1203, Features Department, 7505 Warwick Blvd., Newport News 23607. Essays should be personal, not political. Only the best will be published, edited to available space.